The Rhode Island Child Care for All Act is a proposed legislation aimed at establishing a comprehensive and affordable child care system in the state. The bill highlights the importance of accessible child care for economic support and workforce participation, and it acknowledges the challenges of high costs and low wages in the current child care market. It mandates the creation of an Office for Early Learning by June 30, 2026, which will oversee the state's early learning system, including a program to support child care providers. The bill also requires the office to conduct cost of care surveys and sets conditions for providers to receive funding, such as maintaining a Rhode Island child care license and using funds for eligible activities. It includes provisions for determining funding amounts, annual grants for special categories of care, and regulations for freezing family composition and income for child care assistance eligibility for certain military families.

The bill introduces measures to cap the cost of child care at seven percent of a family's income and outlines a plan for providing funding assistance to ensure all families have access to quality care. It details a phased approach to allocate subsidies based on family income levels, with full subsidies for the lowest-income families and a sliding scale of copayments for higher-income families. The bill also defines family income for eligibility, excluding certain types of income, and describes methods for subsidizing care, such as vouchers and open spaces with providers. It includes protections for families currently receiving assistance and requires an annual review of the assistance program to remove barriers to access. The bill calls for the establishment of a compensation structure for early educators, the creation of a public childcare option pilot program, and states that the act will take effect on January 1, 2025.